Parents: School teacher and wood dealer who migrated to Freeport, Ill. Johnson's father became a factory worker, janitor and junk dealer.

1964-68: Attended University of Illinois, pledged Kappa Alpha Psi

1968-72: Graduate work at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

1972: Press Secretary to Walter Fauntroy, DC delegate to Congress

1976: Lobbyist for National Cable Television Association

1979: Founded Black Entertainment Television with a $15,000 loan. BET reaches 71.9 million households, about 400,000 households tune in

2001: Sold BET to Viacom for $3 Billion, which is 6,000 times his original investment

2002: Founded DC Air which collapsed when the government rejected the US Airways - United merger, Serves on board of Hilton Hotels

Politics: Donates heavily to Democrats, but serves on President Bush's Social Security Commission and was described by the New Republic as "Bush's go-to guy" in the black community

More information: 96% of BET employees are black, 52% of managers women. BET not without critics who have taken aim at misogynist music videos and lack of original programming, also invested in Homewood Suites Hotels, restaurants